Page 6 - Sanger Herald 12-14-17 e-edition

By Ron Camacho
Sanger Herald Correspondent
The Kings River Winery took a trip back in time on the night of Dec. 9 as the Sanger Woman’s Club held its second annual Dickens of a Christmas fundraiser dinner.
More than 300 people in Victorian-era clothing attended the event, which was held to raise money for Sanger Pledge scholar- ships.
“In Sanger Unified, sixth-graders and their parents sign a pledge promising grades, citi- zenship and attendance,” said Terry Barthuli, co-chair of the event. “If the kids hit those benchmarks all the way through junior high and high school, in each elementary school setting, there will be a $1,000 scholarship waiting for them when they graduate. If there’s more than one student from the same elementary school setting, they compete for the scholarship.”
The Kings River Winery looked as if it traveled back to 1840. Gas lamp-like lights decorated the outside of a large tent that was connected to the winery’s main barn. The scene was complete with children, dressed
as 20th century factory workers, who ran be- tween groups of dinner tables with fake mops in hand.
Barthuli said she was inspired to make the fundraiser Charles Dickens-themed after visiting the annual Great Dickens Christmas Fair in Daly City.
“I had been to the Dickens Fair at the Cow Palace that they’ve had for the past 25-plus years and I thought it was so enchanting that
when I started this, we decided to have it be Charles Dickens themed and that’s the way it will always be now,” Barthuli said.
The Woman’s Club goal for the night was to raise money for the scholarship endow- ment, which already has $100,000.
“The more money we raise the better. No amount is enough if it’s for such a great cause,” she said.
To accomplish its goal, the Woman’s Club held a series of auctions and raffles through- out the night. Auctioned items included a piano, a harp, antique house decor, desserts and a handcrafted doll house.
“This doll house was made by a master carpenter. He made it for his daughter when she was about 6. All of it is handmade,” Bar- thuli said.
Barthuli said planning the event is a year- long effort. She implemented several changes after learning from mistakes she made while organizing last year’s event.
This year, instead of cramming all the guests into the winery’s main barn, a large tent with dining tables was connected to the main structure, giving the Woman’s Club twice the amount of space than last year.
“Last year I didn’t have much experience, I was just a farmer, but I had good organi- zational skills,” said Barthuli. “So after the mistakes I made last year, I’ve learned from them and this year I knew what to do.”
Barthuli said many of the changes would not have been possible without the help of Bob and Debbie Bagdasarian, owners of the Kings River Winery.
“This was a community effort. We couldn’t
Photo courtesy of Sanger Woman's Club
Sanger Woman's Club president Jeanne Adams, left, and event founder and organizer Terry Barthuli all dressed up and ready for a Dickens of a Christmas.
"Sanger Junction House" is the school district's newest addition to its adult transition program
All school districts are re- quired to provide adult tran- sition programs to disabled students aged 18 to 22. But unlike most schools, Sanger’s transition programs help students with a wide range of disabilities, said Navo.
The Sanger Junction House is designed specifical- ly for students with severe disabilities.Forstudentswith more moderate disabilities, the district offers the Target Program, which teaches students how to navigate a college campus and finish course work.
“This gives students the minimum course work they need to get vocational train- ing so when they turn 22, they have a high chance of having a job, earning a wage, and having the ability to live independently,” said Navo.
The Sanger Junction House which has already been in use for two months, had its grand opening this Tuesday.
“We’ve already had a small group of students come in for about two months now, so it’s been a slow opening,” said Wayne Richardson, who teaches at the Sanger Junc- tion House. “But it’s been a great start, we’ve had the students learn how to move furniture around and finish cleaning tasks, and we’ve al- ready begun lessons on how to take care of our lawn.”
Richardson said teaching the students how to integrate into society is key to helping them lead independent and successful lives.
“I really enjoy working with them and treating them as equals, and having high expectation for them and helping them grow. Gaining the ability to socialize and connect with the community – that has the potential to
be life changing for them,” Richardson said.
The job does not come without its set of challenges. But Richardson said teaching
students how to overcome behavioral problems is one of his favorite parts of working at the house.
“It’s a good challenge to work with them. Sometimes they don’t have a good grasp on how to act in society. So it’s challenging, but that’s what makes it fun to work with them,” he said.
SangerJunctionHouse program manager Ada Wolff said the purpose of the house is to give students a realistic space that will teach them how to live independently.
“The idea was to expand services for students that would offer and mirror real life experience so that they can build living skills,” Wolff said. “What we want students to learn are self-help skills, learning how to cook and clean, how to navigate their community. These are the skills that lead to indepen- dence.”
Besides teaching living skills, one of the goals of the house is to help prepare students for jobs.
“Work experience is
also something that’s an important component of the program,” Wolff said. “The students get interest surveys, and based on their results we set goals for learning how to apply for a jobs and getting job training for an area that they are interested in.”
The program has part- nered with a number of businesses, including Am- persand Ice Cream, Sanchez Auto Repair and Quesadilla Gorilla, to help give students on-the-job training.
“They get real life experi- ences that will carry over to their personal life and will lead to inclusive opportuni- ties in a school setting and in the community so that they can continue to build upon those relationships,” Wolff said. “We want them to have the opportunity to lead more independent lives and be part of the community.”
By Ron Camacho
Sanger Herald Correspondent
Sanger Unified has un- veiled the newest addition to its adult transition program.
The Sanger Junction House was purchased by Sanger Unified a year ago. The house is designed to help teach living skills to disabled
students.
“What this does is it gives
us the opportunity to teach daily living skills in a daily living environment,” Sanger Unified superintendent Matt Navosaid. “Forstudents who will have difficulty transitioning away from the
home, this will teach them to learn to clean, to learn
to cook, learn to run a dish- washer, learn yard care and develop skills that will allow them to potentially earn somewagemoneyandmake a contribution to their own well-being.”
SANGER HERALD 6A THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2017
Sanger Woman's Club has a Dickens
of a Christmas to raise money for its
Sanger Pledge scholarship program
have done this without our sponsors or the Bagdasarians,” Barthuli said.
Choir members from the Sequoia Lake Community Church sang Christmas carols. Joe Petti, one of the singers, said the choir performed to help support the Pledge Pro- gram.
“We’re big fans of Terry. We’re from the same church, so she didn’t need to convince us to come here,” he said. “And we couldn’t refuse because it was for a good cause.”
Petti, who attended last year’s event, said the Woman’s Club had made several improve- ments from last year.
“The big thing is that it’s been expanded. It gives us more room to wander through the crowd, like carolers through the streets of London.,” Petti said.
The night also featured performances by choir students from Sanger’s Science, Art and Music (SAM) Academy. Jerry Valadez, founder of the academy, said one the reasons
he attended the dinner was to support the pledge program.
“A lot of the kids in the choir might not have had the chance to be here if it wasn’t for SAM Academy,” Valadez said. “So I’m a big supporter of education and I think the pledge is great.”
As far as the night’s festivities, Valadez said he was hoping to get one of the cakes that were up for auction. “The piano looks nice, but I’ve had my eye on the cakes,” he said. “I can already tell the food is going to be delicious.”
Barthuli said the dinner is a good example of the community of Sanger coming together to support education.
“We don’t want people to forget why we’re raising money,” Barthuli said. “It’s not just a party, but what we’re doing is significant and it could have only happened if people partici- pated.”
Sanger District Chamber of Commerce
The Nation’s Christmas Tree City Christmas 2017 Events
4 IncredIble, SenSatIonal, ohmygoSh celebratIon! Launch of our new website
Friday, Dec. 15 @ 7pm
At Marechal Vinyards 1835 N. Zediker, Sanger
4 1St annual
buSIneSS lIght conteSt
Wed., Dec. 20 5:30pm - 7pm
Vote for the Best Decorated Business
4 PIctureS WIth Santa
Dec. 13 & 20 5:30pm - 7pm
In Santa’s Workshop
Downtown Sanger in Brehler Square
Details, yes!, Call today the Sanger Chamber office 559-875-4575 sangerchamber@gmail.com
WORSHIP IN SANGER
Church
Directory
For information about how your church can advertise their services call 875-2511.
Calvary Fellowship Church
737 Church Ave Sanger
Sunday school for all ages 9:30 AM Sunday worship service 10:30 AM Wednesday Family night for all ages 6 PM - 8 PM
Sanger BiBle Study
6:30pm - 7:30pm Every Tuesday
923 Spalding, Sanger
• 559-579-0642 •
IITim 2:15
CHURCH OF CHRIST
1518 Cherry Street (Corner of “P” Street) Sanger, CA 93657
SUNDAY - Bible Study 9:30 a.m. Worship 10:30 a.m. Evening Worship 6:00 p.m.
Wednesday - Bible Study 7 p.m. CLASES EN ESPANOL - 9:30 a.m. Call 875-8270 / 960-8982 Para Espanol
CALVARY CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP
1128 N. Street, Sanger
Sunday Service 10:30 a.m. Sunday School 10:30 a.m.
Have FAITH In God. Mark 11:22
Pastor and Mrs. Masis Kayaian Call (559) 392-3391
CANDLE LIGHT SERVICE
A Christmas Invitation to all. Come and celebrate The Birthday of Jesus, at 4:00 P.M. On Christmas Eve Sunday. Help us worship and sing to His Honor and Glory. Special music by The Sequoia Bible Fellowship. Come and join us at the First Presbyterian Church of Orange Cove at 499 6th Street, Orange Cove. Church service Sunday Mornings at 10:30am.
orderYour HolidaY taMales & Masa
Cristal Bakery
Panaderia Y restaurant Mexicano
704 “O” Street • Sanger • 875-6172
015743